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Sparc Enterprise servers using the Sparc64 VII processor are targeted at high-availability, mission-critical enterprise applications, including large-scale databases, data warehousing, and enterprise resource planning.

Sun Sparc road map

Sun Microsystems and Fujitsu have announced a quad-core version of the Sparc64 processor and servers to that will use the chip.

The Sparc64 VII is made on a more advanced 65-nanometer process than the Sparc64 VI chip, which used a 90nm node.

Sun is no stranger to multicore–putting many processing cores on one chip. Its UltraSparc T2 processor can place up to eight cores on a single piece of silicon. This allows the UltraSparc T2 to run up to 64 threads–parts of a program that can execute independently–or eight threads per core. It’s a feat processor giant Intel still hasn’t accomplished.

(Credit:
Sun Microsystems)

Pricing and availability information is here.

Fujitsu–which manufactures and designs the Sparc64 processor–along with Sun unveiled the M4000, M5000, M8000, and M9000 enterprise servers that use the new quad-core Sparc64 VII chip. The two companies claim the processor delivers 80 percent better performance using 44 percent less power than the previous Sparc64 VI processor.

Current Sparc Enterprise servers can be seamlessly upgraded by swapping out older processors with the new Sparc64 VII chips, the two companies said. Sparc VI and Sparc VII chips can also be mixed and matched within a “single domain.”

Recently, in the techie Q&A column in the New York Times, someone asked about changing the password in their router. Due to space limitations, the answer by J. D. Biersdorfer was short, too short. This is what you need to know.

2. If you have the manual for the router, it will have the default IP address. In my experience, the default IP address is rarely changed.

To change a non-default password without knowing it, requires reseting the router back to the factory default settings. There should be a small Reset button for just this purpose. You may have to unwind a paper clip to press the button and may have to hold it pressed for a few seconds. The manual should explain the procedure.

Before you can see the router configuration website, you have to provide a password and possibly a userid. Usually you can’t change the userid, so I’ll focus on the password. In the example below, of logging in to a Belkin router, there isn’t even a userid, just a password.

Logging in to a Belkin Router

Every computer on a network is assigned a unique number. The most common networking protocol, TCP/IP, uses a 32 bit binary number which is written as four decimal numbers separated by periods (such as 192.168.1.1). The unique number for computers on a TCP/IP network is called an IP address.

You can find the IP address of the router in the following ways:

Logging in to a Linksys Router

If the default password doesn’t work, you are safe from malicious software changing the DNS servers. Still, it’s a good idea to know the password for your router.

If you don’t now the router password, start by trying the default one. The New York Times article mentioned two websites where you can find the default userid and password for many routers (here and here). Be aware though, that the sites are neither authoritative nor comprehensive. You can also find the default userid and password in the manual for the router.

3. You can download an electronic version of the manual from the website of the company that manufactured the router. Again, this will have the default IP address.

Every router, wired or wireless, has an internal website used to make configuration changes. Accessing this internal website requires a userid/password, something totally independent of any wireless network passwords.

A year ago, in my prior blog, I discussed why it is so important to change the default router password (see Home routers can be dangerous. VERY dangerous). In brief, if your router is using the default password, your computer is vulnerable to an attack where the router is re-configured. Specifically, the dangerous configuration option is the DNS server. For an introduction to the concept of DNS servers, see my prior posting on OpenDNS.

Step 3: Change The Password

Below is a screen shot of logging into a Linksys router. Note that you are instructed to leave the userid blank, and only enter a password.

Step 1: Find The Router On Your Network

Malicious DNS servers can result in your visiting to a website, any website, and ending up at a phony version of the site run by bad guys. If the website is that of a bank or credit card company, and you enter a userid/password, you can kiss your identity, and money, good-bye.

Be Angry?

Output from the ipconfig command in Windows Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : localdomain2
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.88
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

This will connect you with the website that lives inside the router. This website will look and act like any other website even though, technically, it is not on the world wide web.

If your router was setup by a good techie, there should be a piece of paper next to it with the IP address, userid and password. I’m sure this is rare.

In a Linksys router it may be in the Administration tab. In a Belkin router, try the System Settings. In a recent D-Link router, you changed the password in the Admin sub-section of the Tools section.

Simply put, you’ll have to do some hunting around the website to find the page for changing the password. Every router I’ve seen has a different interface.

See a summary of all my Defensive Computing postings.

After changing the password, you will likely get bounced out of the website and forced to login with the new password. Do so, just to be sure the new password is working. Now write down the userid and password on a piece of paper and tape it to the router. For good luck, include the IP address too.

Step 2: Find The Password

Open your web browser and type this number into the address bar, as shown below.

There are three steps to changing the password in a router:*
  1. Find the router on the network
  2. Log in to the website built into the router
  3. Hunt around for the appropriate web page

Rather than hunt, if you have the manual in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, try doing a find for the word “password”. Unfortunately, routers are complicated and there are many passwords. The password to login to the router is not the PPoE password, or the PPTP password or the L2TP password. It also has nothing to do with the password for the wireless network.

D-Link may add more complication. Their routers may have an admin password for logging in to the router and making changes, and, a separate user password for logging in to the router in read-only mode.

If your router was using the default userid/password then the person that set it up is worse than incompetent, they are guilty of negligence. It’s not inconceivable for this to result in a lawsuit someday.

If the person that setup your router did not tell you the IP address, userid and password, they are incompetent. It’s like buying a new
car and not being able to open the hood to get to the engine. The car will run and work fine, for a while. Maybe quite a while. But there will come a time when you need to poke around the engine and you won’t be able to.

Update. March 11, 2008: I just set up a new Belkin N Mimo router. Not only does the new model continue the tradition mentioned above of supporting only a password (no userid), the default password is no password.

1. The person who set it up tells you.

4. The most reliable method is to ask the TCP/IP software running on your computer. It always knows where the router is. In Windows XP, Vista and 2000, open a command prompt window and enter the command “ipconfig” (see above). The IP address of the router is identified by Windows as the “Default Gateway”.

*Note: There may also be software for managing the router, but finding and installing the software can be a headache of its own. Also, there is no standard for how the software works.

However, we did manage to find time to record the latest episode of Open Season. This time we touched on Adobe’s OSS works, Red Hat’s new CEO and the realm of the Mule.

And yes, I do want a new MacBook Air.

I spent all of last week working on Mule product announcements (please to enjoy the world’s first open source SOA Governance Platform) and the new MuleSource website which left nary little time for blogging.

There are lots of things to like about Google’s Gmail service: It’s free (unless you count the text ads at the top of each window; it is available on any device with Internet access, and it’s easy to use as a central repository for multiple e-mail accounts.

Paste the address in the From: field and click the Next Step button. After a few seconds you’ll see all the mail from that person listed at the bottom of the screen. Check Apply the label, and choose New label from the drop-down menu to the right. Enter a name for your filter, and click OK. You can select the messages you want to view in the list, or simply click Also apply filter to the xx conversations below to add all of them. Click Create Filter to return to the Filters tab of the Settings window.

Sort your Gmail messages by applying a label to a filter.

Unfortunately, there are also many useful features of Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, and other standalone e-mail programs that Gmail lacks. One of the features I miss most is the ability to sort messages by sender. I used to have to page through old mail 50 messages at a time to find the one I was looking for. Now I use the service’s filters and labels as a sort substitute.

If you’re looking for a message from a particular person, select that person’s entry in the Contacts list on the left of the main Gmail window, and copy the address in the To: field. Next, click Settings in the top-right corner of the window, and choose Filters > Create a new filter.

Find all the messages from a single person by entering their address in the From: field of Gmail's Create a filter screen.

The messages you selected and all subsequent mail from that person will now be viewable by clicking the entry you just created in the Labels list on the left side of the main Gmail window, just below your list of contacts. Of course, you can also create a labeled filter to find the mail you sent to a specific address, with or without certain words in the subject or elsewhere, and with attachments.

Tomorrow: enable the hidden administrator account in
Windows Vista, and password-protect the XP equivalent.

The new section of the site is set to launch June 4. Huffington Post representatives said the effort was spearheaded by current Editor-at-large Willow Bay, a TV journalist who currently hosts programs on the Lifetime women’s cable network.

“HuffPost Green will focus on eco news and trends–from style and eco-conscious celebrities to green lifestyle tips and the latest scientific findings and expert analysis,” a release from the company explained, hinting that we will likely see photos of Leonardo DiCaprio with his shirt off in addition to the latest grim findings on climate change. “The section will also feature advice on sustainable investing and highlight eco-friendly businesses and sustainable business sectors such as renewable energy, green building, recycling and organics.”

The Huffington Post, the news aggregation and commentary site founded by political pundit Arianna Huffington and former AOL exec Ken Lerer, is finally jumping on the post-Al-Gore bandwagon.

If you’re like me, your reaction to this news might’ve been, “What? You mean there isn’t a ‘green’ section already?” The New York-based Huffington Post got its start as a liberal answer to the wildly popular Drudge Report news site, and while it’s since branched beyond its political roots, it remains targeted toward a well-educated, left-leaning audience.

The company announced Wednesday that it will be launching HuffPost Green, a site division specific to “green” content through a content partnership with Discovery Communications’ Planet Green channel as well as TreeHugger, the popular eco-news blog that Discovery acquired last year.

But although it runs sections pertaining to politics, media, entertainment, business, and “living,” as well as a comedy site called 23/6 in conjunction with IAC, there still hadn’t been a section devoted to the unavoidably trendy niche of environmental media. Until now.

Think magnets and sharks, flapping fish, dynamite and steak, and ninjas and poison darts.

Without giving too much away, I got to spend most of the day yesterday at the MythBusters headquarters in San Francisco, talking with the hit TV show’s stars as they prepared for upcoming episodes.

(Credit:
Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)

MythBuster Adam Savage holds up a piece of steak that has had core samples taken as part of experiment into extreme meat tenderizing. The experiment included attempting to tenderize steak with dynamite and by shooting steak out of an air cannon.

If you’re a big MythBusters fan, or even if you’re not, I hope you will stop on by on Friday morning, as I’ll have a story and extensive photo gallery from the day I spent Wednesday hanging out with the famous team.

And if you want to know more, this is the place to be, starting at 4 a.m. Pacific time on Friday.

Following earlier news that Microsoft was recalculating its $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo, it has become clear what the company has decided to do. Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet, as evidenced by a letter Saturday from CEO Steve Ballmer to Yahoo’s board of directors. Here’s the quote that sums up the entire letter:

“If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board.”

Full coverage
Microsoft’s big bid for Yahoo Click here for the latest on the software giant’s attempt to buy the Net pioneer.

This certainly is sending a strong message to Yahoo that almost nothing can be done to derail Microsoft’s acquisition of the company. Rubbing salt into the wound, Microsoft adds, “It is unfortunate that by choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations with us, you have failed to give due consideration to a transaction that has tremendous benefits for Yahoo!’s shareholders and employees,” in an attempt to stir up a response from Yahoo’s board.

Since everything has been laid out and is now on the table, we are in for a very interesting three weeks. A hostile takeover of Yahoo would be really ugly and you can bet that Microsoft does not want to take that route, but it appears that they will if they have to.

The immediacy of game content delivered via Web browser could be the thing that knocks game consoles out of the foothold they have established.

But it seems a bit naive to think that people will only play games one way. Video games are not much different than other software–developed, consumed and distributed in different manners.

A more-likely scenario than the death of the console is one in which the console can play games of all types, including those that are browser-based or require a download installation.

The digital distribution era as described by Mike Yuen, senior director of BREW Gaming for Qualcomm Internet Services, is one that requires the gaming industry to re-evaluate the way it distributes content:

At this year’s Casual Connect Conference in Seattle, Alex St. John, CEO of WildTangent, predicted the death of console gaming by 2020. He surmised that as the industry shifts its focus from quality graphics to production value it will be less inclined to invest in the development of next-gen gaming consoles. When coupled with rapidly increasing digital content distribution through online and mobile devices, the decrease in console production will cut into the profits and demand for retail console and PC games. With the increased proliferation of affordable, immediate digital content, St. John predicted that the PC and browser will emerge as the dominate “console” within the gaming industry.

Of course, this assumes that consumers would be willing to have a less graphically intense experience and have the requisite bandwidth to make the game usable. While I don’t see the bandwidth as an issue, and games such as World of Warcraft aren’t hurting for high-quality graphics, it’s hard to see a world where the consoles go away completely.

Today, the most popular browser-based games are casual play, as opposed to console games that people tend to play more seriously. In fact, the immersive nature of console games has led to an entire category of legal issues, the most bizarre of which is the “video game defense.” According to the Palm Beach Post:

“The goal of the ‘video games’ defense is to both shift blame and to explain to a judge and jury why this good kid is suddenly acting like a terrorist,” says Illinois attorney James H. Waller. “Portraying your client as the victim of outside forces (be they child abuse, coercion by peers, or an ultra-violent video game industry) humanizes the client and shifts the culpability.”

Sooner or later someone will use the “blog defense” or “Twitter defense” when all of the noise of the Internet makes them go cuckoo. (For more such noise, you can follow my Twitter antics at Daveofdoom.)

While you’re thinking of these heady topics, enjoy the classic (and casual) arcade game Burgertime, courtesy of my friends at Widgetbox.

Disclaimer: The opinions represented here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Canon’s 17-85mm zoom lens

(Credit:
Canon)

Last year, Canon posted an interesting video showing the manufacturing process behind the EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens that costs about $5,800. Now a photographer has posted his own site that that illustrates why the comparatively lowly EF-S 17-85MM f4-5.6 IS USM costs about $500.

A FredMiranda forum member named Sam posted some photographic details of his lens disassembly after his model suffered a stuck aperture, the mechanism that regulates how much light goes into the lens. Fittingly, the last photo he took was of an exhibit at a Parisian Arab-Islamic museum that features dozens of apertures.

As you might imagine, the lens is an amazing feat of electromechanical miniaturization. I found the most intriguing shots to be of the slotted mechanism that converts rotation of the focusing and zoom rings on the outside of the lens into movement of component assemblies on the inside. Also, the copper windings of the motors controlling the image stabilization are fascinating. I was a little surprised how small the broken aperture actually is. In all, there are dozens of components.

Having stripped some screws and not kept track of the disassembly order, he decided against trying to reassemble it. “Overall, the inner workings were a bit more complex than I expected, but it was a nice linear process taking it apart,” he said.

So at the end of it all, he turned the lens into a pencil holder.

Bonus link: Also, if you’re in a more constructive frame of mind, the Japanese camera giant also shares instructions on how to make a Canon SLR out of balsa wood.

Curious about gardening? Check out Folia, a social network for plant enthusiasts who want to share and learn tips from the successes and failures of those around them.

Much like Ravelry, the social network for knitters, Folia’s claim to fame is that it lets you share and track your gardening with others whether they’re near or far. It’s also been built up to help you keep an inventory on all your plants and aid you in making swaps with other growers for plants you’d normally have to go out and buy yourself. Think of it like a giant swap meet for plants.

One of the site’s biggest assets for newbie gardeners is that it’s set up to help you learn about a plant you’ve just acquired, or are thinking about getting, and let you see how well it will work in your region based on the USDA zoning–a list of the ideal growing conditions. While this is helpful, the site can be even more useful if people nearby are posting information on plants that have been successfully grown in your area–something you’re unlikely to find on the back of a seed bag. There’s also a built-in wiki that will give you information on each variety and tips on growing it.

Besides being a reference service, Folia throws in some publishing and productivity tools like a garden blog and a scheduling tool. It ties into Flickr and Google services like Picasa Web Albums and Blogger, so you can take pictures of your plant and post them to your virtual gardens to show to others. This goes along with a tracking tool that notes how many days each plant has been growing since you put it in the ground and when you should water and tend to it based on your care preferences.

Folia launched in earnest in late 2007. Competing gardening social networks include The Garden Network and GardenWeb.

[via Unclutter via Lifehacker]

Gardening goes Web 2.0 with Folia, a tracking and plant resource side with a great social twist.

(Credit:
CNET Networks)